Paris Hilton and Lady Gaga are dead. So is the President.
Psytrance parties rage as Palm Springs burns. Police and fire departments are
gone. Martial law is imposed to deal with the riots but the military is
overwhelmed when Mexicans storm the border to fly their flag over Imperial
Beach. Warlords battle private security forces for control of coastal towns.
Power, gas, and water are luxuries. Hummers and motor coaches are obsolete. The
internet and cells are inoperative. Wi-Fi is history. Stores have been ransacked.
The black market thrives. Teenage gangs go door-to-door looting and killing.
Suburbanites must either leave or risk getting slaughtered. Tent cities sprout
like mushrooms from the beach into the desert. Welcome to the Prelude to the
Apocalypse. Journey with Tony and Evo into the heart of the American Nightmare
as they search for safe haven in a world that knows no rules.

PURCHASE LINKS

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

What is your name, where were you born and where do
you live now?

Kirby Wright. I was born and raised in
Honolulu, Hawaii. I currently live in Vista, California. My
roots are in Cork, Ireland and Nelson, England.

Did you always want to be a writer? If not what did
you want to be?

No. I wanted to be a priest and then a
scientist. I also thought I wanted to be a lawyer. I even went to
law school for a full year. I knew something was wrong in law school
when I found myself scribbling poems down in Civil Procedure class instead of
listening to the professor.

When did you first consider yourself as a
"writer?"

Getting a call from
a Chinese university inviting me for an all-expense paid residency in Hong Kong
and chance to lecture with a Pulitzer Prize winner.

Did it take a long time to get your first book
published?

Five years for my first poetry collection, although
most of the poems were published in literary journals and magazines along the
way.

Do you work another job as well as your writing
work?

Yes, I am a part-time travel agent and
accountant. Before that, I taught creative writing in adult school.

What is the name of your latest book, and if you
had to summarize it in less than 20 words what would you say?

The End, My Friend:
Prelude to the Apocalypse

This is a futuristic
thriller and a sort of prequel to The Hunger Games.

Who is your publisher?

Lemon Shark Press.

What can we expect from you in the future? More
books of the same genre? Books of a different genre?

Different genre—creative nonfiction. It
will be a childhood memoir of Hawaii, one about a dysfunctional family that
bounces back and forth between the islands of Oahu and Moloka’i.

If you had to choose to be one of your characters
in your book/books which would you be? and why?

I would choose to be
Tony Pernicano in The End, My Friend. He is courageous,
vulnerable, and sometimes a bit foolhardy. When you enter his
interior world you will discover bits and pieces of myself. The only
way I could write this book was to go first person, with heavy journeys into
Tony’s psyche, an inner space that is really an exploration of my own hopes,
desires, and fears.

How long have you been writing, and who or what
inspired you to write?

I’ve been writing off and on for 20 years, but I’d
have to subtract about 5 years when I was in sales and focused solely on making
money. My girlfriend encouraged me to return to school for a
master’s degree in creative writing and that has made all the difference.

What was the best review you have ever had?

My best review was for Moloka’i Nui Ahina,
Summers on the Lonely Isle. The review was in the Maui Weekly and
the book critic placed me in the ranks of Dorothy Allison and Frank McCourt.

How do you come up with characters names and place
names in your books?

I stockpile names and places in my head and then
summon them when they are needed. In The End, My Friend, I
relied heavily on the internet for photos of the corridor cities and towns the
protagonists enter and leave for ideas. The flee path of Evo and Tony dictated
the ever-changing surroundings, from coast to desert and then to Crater Lake,
Oregon. It helped tremendously that I had the starting point as well
as the final destination of the protagonists’ journey fixed.

Do you basic plot/plan for your book, before you
actually begin writing it out? Or do you let the writing flow and see where it
takes the story?

I let the book take it’s own direction and never
work on it chronologically. I write what excites me first, then
build forwards and backwards. Sometimes I rely on dreams to fill in
difficult scenarios. There’s a lot to be said for the unconscious
mind working on problems while you sleep or about to drift off. The
playwright Edward Albee taught me that trick.

Have you ever suffered from a "writer's
block?" What did you do to get past the "block?"

Yes. But as strange as this seems, I’ve
written some of my best poetry when I’m low. Writers should use
their shifting moods to write different material, maybe experiment a bit in
different genres or even try painting. Good things can come from depression, I
kid you not.

What do you do to unwind and relax? Do you have a
hobby?

I race turtles in the backyard. Once a
hawk swooped down and scooped up a turtle. My kitten found that
turtle later alive near the fence. I also take my turtles down to
the beach and let them run around. You should see the crowds I
attract.

Have you ever based characters on people you know
or based events on things that have happened to you?

Yes. My companion novels set in Hawaii
are really memoirs in disguise! I am primarily a creative nonfiction
writer. The End, My Friend is the one exception, although aspects of
the character Tony Pernicano are really yours truly.

Do you think children at schools these days are
encouraged enough to read? and/or do imaginative writing?

No. And
we must do something about that. I centered The End, My Friend around
RBV High School in the hopes the kids would pick up my book and read. I
think all high schools and prep academies should offer creative writing classes
and publish literary reviews featuring student work.

What piece of advice would you give to a new
writer?

Experiment
constantly and never give up. Try every genre of writing because
they are all connected and trying one you’re not as proficient at will make you
stronger. It’s similar to cross training in the field of athletics.

If you could invite three favourite writers to
dinner, whom would you invite and enjoy chatting with?

If we could resurrect Joyce, Fitzgerald, Eliot, and
Plath, it would be a blast sharing barbecued ribs with them. I’m a
master on the Weber kettle. I would also like to resurrect Hemingway
so that I could box him.

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About Me

Hi, My name is Sandra, though for my blog I go by an adaptation of my middle name, Jeanz! I live in the UK, started blogging in Aug 2011. I have always loved books!. If a blurb catches my eye I will usually give reading it a go!

About me & my reviews

As of January 2017 all opinions expressed on this blog my own. I do not receive any cash payment for my reviews. I read because we all love reading! Also I no longer use links on my blog through the Amazon Associates Program.